CHERUB: Sons Of Patriots
by diablo666
Summary: Fifteen year old CHERUB navy shirt Joshua Asker gets a "make or break" mission. What is it? And how will he handle it? Featuring most of the original CHERUB cast. R&R please.
1. Backstage Pass

Fifteen year old navy shirt Joshua Asker rolled over. The sun was up, but he couldn't face his day. He had Physics first, and he had forgotten he was supposed to do three pages out of his exercise book for homework. This meant a week of repainting the lines on all the rugby and soccer fields on CHERUB campus. Joshua sighed. If he didn't go downstairs now, he'd miss breakfast. Hopefully if there were some bacon and pancakes left, he could eat himself into hoping the day would improve.

As Joshua stumbled into his clothes, he ran into his handler Kerry Chang.

"Hi Joshua."

"What's up miss?"

"I just got word from James. He wants to see you first thing this morning."

Joshua smiled. A meeting with James means only one thing; he's going on a mission. Not only can he bunk his homework, but this might finally be the mission to get him the black shirt he'd been working towards for five years.

"You didn't do your homework, did you?"

"How'd you guess?"

"I don't know how many times I've seen that look. You know, I could inform Ms Hill that you didn't do your homework..."

"No, that's fine."

"OK. Now get this room cleaned up a bit, go get some food before it all goes, then head over to James' office." Joshua immediately complied by making his bed.

Within about an hour, Joshua had managed to clean his room and get the last rasher of bacon. After gobbling down what he could, he headed over to James' office. As was normal for him, however, he stopped in the small memorial room for CHERUBs and staff that died in the line of duty. While there were a small handful of names on the Roll of Honour, he only had eyes for two.

Ewart Asker: 1976-2010

Zara Asker: 1970-2010

As hard as he tried, Joshua could never remember them.

When he was just six, both his parents had been kidnapped by two former members of a white supremacist group CHERUB had managed to bring down. When the hut they were held captive in as stormed by paratroopers, one renegade had started firing shots into the building with no direction whatsoever. While he had managed to take down the kidnappers, Zara and Ewart had also died in the shootout.

Since the death of his parents, Joshua and his younger sister Tiffany had lived full time on CHERUB campus. While they were orphans like all the other cherubs, occasionally their status as the children of the former chairwoman of CHERUB led to problems with their peers.

But not today, as Joshua left the room and entered the mission preparation building and headed for James Adams' office before knocking on the door.

"Come in," was the call for Joshua's favourite person on campus. James was his godfather, and had been like an older brother to him. One of the best days of Joshua's life was when he heard James had taken a job as a CHERUB mission controller a few months ago. Joshua opened the door and entered.

"Hey, kid. How's it going?"

"Not bad."

"Doing your homework?"

"Um..."

"Kerry told me."

"Oh. So you know."

"James can't talk. He never did his homework anyway." Until now I hadn't realised James had a guest. And not just any guest. That face was one I knew very well. The long blond hair, the beard and the pierced eyebrow...

"You're Dave Moss!"

"The only one. Good to meet you, Joshua."

"I have every Demon Vipers CD! My sister is an ever bigger fan. She has posters of you all around her room."

"That's nice to know."

James cleared his throat. "What very few people know about Dave is that he is also an ex-CHERUB. He's doing a big concert at Wembley tomorrow, but he's worried about the security of his hotel, what with all the crazy girls. So he's asked CHERUB for a favour to test the security and since I owe him my life, I volunteered you for the job."

"Great." While it was awesome to meet Dave Moss, Joshua was also a bit sad that it was nothing more than a security check. That's not gonna be a black shirt mission.

"You in?"

"I guess so."

"Good. You get to leave for London in Dave's tour bus. Once you get there, follow the instructions on this map," as James hands him a folded up map, "and make sure everything is OK. To sweeten the deal, you can take four friends with you. After you're finished, you go to the concert."

"We get to go to the concert?" Joshua realised this was a sweet deal.

"Backstage passes, kid."

"Oh...my...God..." This mission was gonna be great. So what if it's just a security check? Not many of the biggest missions got you backstage passes to a Demon Vipers concert. They'd be the talk of campus for weeks.

"Okay mate, you got half an hour to get your crew together, get any equipment you think you might need and meet in the campus carpark."

"I'm on it." Joshua got up to leave.

"Hey Joshua." Joshua stopped. "If you pull this one off, I got something else waiting for you when you get back. A big mission."

"How big?"

"Let's just say it's the kind that can make or break a CHERUB career." Make or break. The kind of mission that could either get Joshua his black shirt, or kill any remaining chance he has for one. As Joshua left to gather his crew for the security check, he couldn't help but think about what could lie in store when he returned.


	2. Fire Exit

Disclaimer: I do not own CHERUB or any CHERUB characters, that's Robert Muchamore. And as far as I know, I'm not him. I do own Felix and Trey though.

Four Hours Later.

London

12:45 pm

Joshua had managed to get his two best friends, Felix and Trey, to come with him. Unfortunately before he could invite any of the hot girls on campus, Tiffany found out and promised to do his homework for a week if she could come along. She bugged Joshua for an hour until he gave in.

"Alright guys, you know your roles. Felix, you go up the fire exit, Trey, you try the windows, Tiffany, you go through the elevator. I'll stay here and monitor you're progress."

"Right," was the response from all three as they headed to their respective stations.

Trey arrived at the second highest floor of the hotel, before entering a convenient unused room directly below Dave's penthouse suite. He then broke the lock- breaking hotel room card key locks was routine stuff for cherubs- before entering the room. He then walked out onto the balcony and started throwing rocks and other debris he had collected at Dave's window. However, no matter what he fired and despite his baseball pitcher's arm, the windows wouldn't budge...

"Ouch! Fucking hell mate, watch where you're throwing!"

"Shit, sorry Felix."

"It's OK. As far as I can tell, the windows are all but impenetrable. And there's no other way in from the fire exit, which is totally secured. If I can't hack it, what chance does some twelve year old girl have?"

"You're right. Joshua, did you hear that?" Trey spoke into the small walkie talkie all CHERUBS carried everywhere.

"Gotcha. Tiffany also reports that there is no way Dave can be approached in his hotel room unless he lets them in. Let's get out of here and chill around London until the concert." Felix and Trey both complied and headed downstairs.

London

11:45 am

"Dude, that concert was fucking unbelievable!"

"Yeah! I loved the extended version of Devil In The City. Dave's guitar solo rocked!"

"Hey Tiff, you haven't said anything since we went backstage!"

Tiffany was too dazed at meeting Dave Moss, getting a snog from him AND scoring an old shirt of his from a roadie...all the girls were going to be so jealous.

"Hey Joshua, how do we get home?"

"James said to wait outside and someone will pick us up."

"That someone's here." John Jones, chairman of CHERUB, pulled up in his Audi A8 until he was just in front of the kids.

"John?"

"I was in London today, meeting with the PM himself. I thought that it made sense to save some fuel and pick you guys up rather than James drive all the way down."

"Yeah. Plus James is a total nana driver."

"I rode with him once. He should seriously stick to his Harley."

"Stop yakking, you can do that inside the car. Get in." All four cherubs climbed into the car, tired from their day but as happy as any of them had been. This day would make them campus legends.


	3. Sons Of Patriots

CHERUB campus

10:45 am

Joshua, Felix, Trey and Tiffany had all been granted the morning off lessons, but Joshua had received a message from Kerry as soon as he'd woken up telling him to get over to James' office. Crawling into his best navy shirt and jeans- CHERUB was undergoing a trial loosening of the campus dress code- Joshua staggered over to James' office. This time, he didn't stop at the memorial. It's not that he wasn't thinking of his parents; he was just in a rush to find out just what James had in store for him. He made up his mind to go after he'd been briefed by James.

One he arrived at James' office, however, he saw Dave again.

"I just wanted to say thanks to you and your mates and sister. For once, I didn't get attacked by twelve year old girls...other than your sister, of course."

"They'll just go back to making slash fiction about you and the rest of the band."

"I can live with that. I'll be going now. See ya." Dave picked up his leather jacket and walked out.

"You enjoyed the concert?"

"Yeah, it rocked."

"Good. Unfortunately there isn't going to be much time for fun and games on this mission." He handed Joshua a mission briefing.

_MISSION BRIEFING FOR JOSHUA ASKER _

_DO NOT REMOVE FROM ROOM 807_

_DO NOT COPY OR MAKE NOTES_

_WHITE SUPREMACY_

_White spuremacist movements are widely believed to have begun with the Ku Klux Klan in the 1870s, after a group of disaffected Confederate soldiers got together with the intent to harass freed slaves in the former Confederate states of the USA. The Klan grew in power and influence through the late 1800s and early 1900s, and also spawned a raft of rival groups. Their ideology eventually spread to Europe, particularly the Nazis in Germany. Ironically, the spread of the Nazis and eventually World War II led to a decline in Klan popularity and membership in America. Despite a brief resurgence in the 1950s, this decline has continued till today, although the Klan has never completely died._

_However, the decline of the Klan has led to hundreds of other white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups forming all over the world. While some of these groups are relatively peaceful in their methods, most use violence and intimidation against blacks, Jews, Muslims and other ethnic minorities in predominantly white countries. One such group are the Sons Of Patriots._

_SONS OF PATRIOTS_

_The Sons Of Patriots were formed in Britain by former White Knights Marshal David Thurmond. After CHERUB brought down the White Knights, Thurmond was one of the highest ranking members to avoid prosecution, and even today has no criminal record worth notice. While it has never been proven, it is also commonly believed that he was the mastermind behind the operation that led to the kidnapping and eventual death of Ewart and Zara Asker._

_After the demise of the White Knights, Thurmond spent some years in America with the Ku Klux Klan before returning to England to start the Sons Of Patriots group with a small nucleus of former White Knight veterans who managed to avoid prosecution._

_While the vast majority of the White Knights were uneducated street trash and kids who saw the group mostly as a way to get into fights, the upper levels of the group were filled with men like Thurmond, who were mostly young, educated men who saw violence as a way to achieve ends rather than a way of life. The Sons Of Patriots, however, are a very tightly knit group who are made up largely of the inner circle of former White Knights, with smaller street teams of yobs and kids. These street teams rely heavily on violence and intimidation, but it is believed Thurmond and his cronies keep them on a tight leash._

_MI5 agents have attempted to infiltrate the group, with no success. One MI5 agent who managed to be accepted into a street team was found dead one day later, with "Grass" spray-painted all over his mutilated body. Intelligence came to the conclusion that the only way was to use a CHERUB agent._

_PLAN OF ACTION_

_Mission Controller James Adams and Joshua Asker will move to Tufnell Park, London, an area believed to be a hotbed of Sons Of Patriots activity. Joshua will be Joshua Storm, a fifteen year old boy who's parents were recently murdered by a black gang in South London. James will be his older brother James Storm, who is looking after Joshua on a trial basis._

_The plan is for Joshua to enter one of the street teams. It is believed that if young Sons Of Patriots members believe that he posesses the necessary capacity for violence, he will be accepted as a member of the street team. As the vast majority of the street teams are uneducated yobs, it is also hoped that Joshua's intelligence will hasten his rise through the ranks of the Sons Of Patriots into the inner circle, putting him in a position to bring the group down from the inside. It is rare, but not unheard of for younger street teamers, particularly the smarter and more ruthless ones, to be fast-tracked into the inner circle._

_THE CHERUB ETHICS COMMITTEE ACCEPTED THIS MISSION BY A THREE TO TWO VOTE. ALL CHERUB AGENTS MUST CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING._

_1) This mission has been classified VERY HIGH RISK. The Sons Of Patriots street teams are notorious for violence to gain points with the top brass._

_2) To gain acceptance into the street teams, agents may have to use violence on innocent people._

_3) The street teams are also notorious for infighting, which often inevitably leads to violence and deaths. _

_4) The length of the mission is unpredictable, and could be anything from one to twelve months depending on how quickly the agents can infiltrate the inner circle of the Sons Of Patriots._

"So what do you say, kid? Gory enough for you?"

"Jesus. I've never been this scared before a mission."

"Do you want to do it?"

"Of course I will."

"I thought so. After all, these were the people who killed your parents."

"I guessed so. That's why I made it clear to John that I'm using you or no-one. He wanted me to use Trey or wait for Martin, but I knew that you would be more motivated than any other agent. Just don't get too motivated, pick the wrong fight and end up dead."

"Am I going alone?"

"That was the other point of debate. Trey and Martin are the only other cherubs who could realistically be used for this mission. Martin is already away on a biggie in Mexico and Trey just returned from New Zealand. In the end, we came to the conclusion that we had to either use you alone or send in a younger, less experienced agent."

"What about Tiffany? She hasn't done any big missions for a while, and she'll be just as motivated as I am."

"They're the Sons Of Patriots, Joshua. No girls are allowed in the street teams."

"Yeah, but she'll at least provide some backup if I need it."

"All right. I'll run it past John, but I think he's essentially given up trying to give me orders for this mission, which is pissing him off. I'm gonna get a pile of security checks and recruitment missions after this."

"I'm hoping that I've seen the end of those. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. Get your stuff together today and say goodbye to your mates, and send Tiffany down here. Now get lost." James waved him off in a matey way and Joshua exited.

While he was scared shitless about the mission, Joshua was excited. He'd lived on CHERUB campus for ten years, and been an agent for five. Just two days out of basic training he had been sent as the youngest member of a five agent team trying to bring down a Mafia group in London. The mission looked like fizzling out before Joshua managed to stumble on a lead while working as a delivery boy for the Mafia boss that eventually bust the group open and had earned him a navy shirt. Since then, however, he had lost his golden touch on missions. Eleven others, to be exact, and eleven missions that had either fizzled out or had seen him outshined by his felllow agents.

"Maybe mission number thirteen will prove lucky," mumbled Joshua to himself as he strolled through the corridors before bumping into another familiar face.

"Watch where you're going, won't ya?"

"Lauren? What are you doing here?" Joshua hadn't seen Lauren since his first mission, which had turned out to be her last. While she had been the senior agent and a great help to him as a rookie, after they had returned to campus she had left for university.

"I just took a job as an assistant mission controller."

But Joshua didn't quite hear her, as he noticed the wedding ring on her finger.

"When did it happen?"

"About a year ago. You were invited, but apparently you were on a mission in France or somewhere."

"Yeah, that's right. How is Rat, anyway?"

"He's good. He got a job as an assistant professor at a local university."

Once again, Lauren's words were lost on Joshua as he remembered going on their first mission and the total crush he had had on Lauren at the time, particularly when he stole her bra and never returned it. It still hung in his wardrobe. Also the time he drilled a hole in the wall of the bathroom so he could take pictures of her while she showered. And...

"You know, I knew all this time that it was you who stole my bra." What? How did she know?

"How did you know?"

"Who else would have?" Good point.

"Joshua, if you were eight or nine years older I would date you. But we can't overcome age."

"It works in Hollywood."

"Yeah, but we aren't in Hollywood here. Plus, do you really want to go out with someone who'll become old before you?" Good point, Joshua thought. She patted him on the back.

"I gotta run. Catch you later."

"Wait!" He stopped. "Who's your boss?"

"Chloe."

"OK then." Joshua headed back to the main building, removing Lauren from his thoughts so that he could mentally prepare for what would be the toughest mission of his CHERUB career.


End file.
